USA 2003 Holiday - Page 15


March 15th 2003 to March 19th 2003 - Home to Alexandria, Louisiana
March 20th 2003 - Alexandria to Sulphur
March 21st 2003 - Sulphur to Lafayette
March 22nd 2003 - Lafayette to Morgan City
March 23rd 2003 - Morgan City to New Orleans
March 24th 2003 - New Orleans
March 24th 2003 - New Orleans Balconies
March 25th & March 26th2003 - New Orleans to Gulf Port
March 27th 2003 - Gulf Port to Mobile
March 28th 2003 - Mobile to Fort Walton
March 29th 2003 - Fort Walton to Tallahassee
March 30th 2003 - Tallahassee to Ocala
March 31st 2003 to April 1st 2003 - Ocala to Miami
April 2nd to April 4th 2003 - Miami
Fuel Log, Summary


FORD FOCUS (Hertz Rental) FUEL LOG
Date Miles kms US
Gallons 		Litres Cost Location Imperial
mpg 		l/100km Average
mpg 		Average
l/100km
16.03.03 14629 23557 Collected Ford Focus from Hertz, Miami Airport,
Florida 		---- ---- ---- ----
16.03.03 14981 24124 10,105 38,25 US$ 17,37 / Euro 16,30 Gainesville,
Florida 		42,18 6,74 42,18 6,74
17.03.03 15280 24606 9,462 35,81 US$ 15,70 / Euro 14,73 Crestview,
Florida 		38,20 7,44 40,25 7,06
17.03.03 15592 25109 11,043 41,80 US $ 19,20 / Euro 18,41 Grosse Tete,
Louisiana 		34,17 8,32 38,06 7,47
18.03.03 15932 25655 1,49 5,65 US$ 2,79 / Euro xx,xx Longview,
Texas 		---- ---- ---- ----
18.03.03 15992 25753 12,53 47,43 US $ 22,56 / Euro 21,53 Shreveport,
Louisiana 		34,48 8,24 36,94 7,69



FORD SVT COBRA MUSTANG FUEL LOG
Date Miles kms US
Gallons 		Litres Cost Location Imperial
mpg 		l/100km Average
mpg 		Average
l/100km
18.03.03 98410 158470 We bought Ford SVT Cobra Mustang Convertible P78 YSN
18.03.03 98414 158477 4,457 16,87 US$ 8,29 / Euro xx,xx Longview,
Texas 		---- ---- ---- ----
19.03.03 98775 159058 14,21 53,78 US$ 25,71 / Euro xx,xx Fayette,
Mississippi 		30,72 9,25 30,72 9,25
20.03.03 99149 159660 14,10 53,36 US$ 24,66 / Euro xx,xx Orange,
Texas 		32,01 8,88 31,37 9,06
21.03.03 99484 160200 13,69 51,83 US$ 24,64 / Euro 22,90 Perry,
Louisiana 		29,61 9,60 30,79 9,23
23.03.03 99827 160752 13,54 51,26 US$ 22,74 / Euro xx,xx Marrero,
Louisiana 		30,58 9,29 30,74 9,24
26.03.03 100170 161305 13,87 52,51 US$ 24,40 / Euro xx,xx Bay St.Louis 29,95 9,49 30,58 9,29
28.03.03 100500 161835 14,54 55,01 US$ 26,15 / Euro 24,68 Destin,
Florida 		27,39 10,38 30,03 9,46
30.03.03 100835 162375 13,16 49,79 US$ 25,37 / Euro xx,xx Perry,
Florida 		30,82 9,22 30,14 9,43
31.03.03 101214 162985 6,01 22,73 US$ 12,00 / Euro xx,xx South Bay,
Florida 		---- ---- ---- ----
03.04.03 101506 163456 11,20 42,38 US$ 20,58 / Euro xx,xx Miami,
Florida 		Under quarter tank for shipping



COSTS
Flights, ICE train, Taxi US $ xx,xx / Euro xx,xx
Car Rental (Ford Focus) US $ 473,57 / Euro 452,00
Petrol (Focus) - 1363 miles US $ 77,62 / Euro xx,xx
Petrol (SVT Cobra) - 3110 miles US $ 206,25 + / Euro xx,xx
Motels US $ xx,xx / Euro xx,xx



Our thanks go out to ....

  • Karen Bonds (for an honest description and all her patience and help, which enabled us to buy this dream car)
  • Gunter and Barbara Pleyer and Andrea Wendel at City Reisebüro in Siegburg (for sorting out our flights, Hertz car hire and first night at the Sleep Inn, Miami)
  • the lady at Hertz, Shreveport Airport, Louisiana (for giving us a discount on the contract agreed price when we returned the rental car early)
  • Jack Friedman at Double A Auto Transport & Moving International, Inc. (for a wealth of helpful and accurate advice on the required formalities for the entire deal - not just the shipping)
  • Jeff at Miami Muffler (for a good deal on the new exhaust system for the Ford SVT Cobra Mustang, and for putting us in touch with ....)
  • Roger Williams at World of Wheels, Miami (for a good deal on the new tyres for the Ford SVT Cobra Mustang)
  • the AAA offices in Shreveport, Louisiana and Pompano Beach, Florida (for giving us a collection of superb guide books, maps and travel tips - and free of charge)

    No thanks go out to ....

  • the man at Hertz, Miami Airport, Florida (who persuaded us to purchase a tank of fuel in advance at US$ 1,80 per gallon, claiming that the petrol would cost over US$ 2,00 per gallon in Louisiana - when it actually cost well under US$ 1,60 per gallon)
  • Pat Hodgkinson at ASI International Group (for chosing to ignore every single one of our e-mails requesting a status update on the shipping, and for making such a cockup of the shipping)
  • Jack Friedman at Double A Auto Transport & Moving International, Inc. (for a totally different attitude towards his customers, once he has received payment and is then requested to chase up the subcontractor that he appointed, Pat Hodgkinson at ASI International Group)
  • the Airways Inn and Suite Hotel, Miami (room 215 was in a disgusting condition, and additional charges of US$ 2,00 for a room safe were levied - although we neither used nor requested this - and they attempted to overcharge us US$ 6,00 instead of the advertised US$ 2,00 for the car park). The nearby Days Inn Motel offers good rooms with free car parking for the same price.
  • the cigarette-smoking b@st@rd at the Best Western Hotel, New Orleans, who burnt two holes in the rag-top of our Ford SVT Cobra Mustang.


    And what did we think of our 1998 Ford SVT Cobra Mustang Convertible on this trip ?

    Well, first of all, the downside ....
  • the Flowmaster exhaust silencers sounded good initially, but the loud boom and resonance between 1700 and 2300 rpm (i.e. between 50 and 70 mph in fifth gear) soon became irritating. We have rectified this by replacing the standard four catalyctic convertors and front h-pipe with twin convertors and x-pipe (as fitted to the more powerful Bullit Mustangs) and the Flowmaster silencers with Magnaflow units - thus increasing the power output from ca. 315 bhp (with the K&N air filter) to ca. 330 bhp.
  • the Kumbo Ecstra 275/40ZR17 tyres offered very little grip in the wet, with tail-out power slides almost unavoidable. This has hopefully been rectified by replacing them with slightly narrower new Toyo Proxy F34 245/45ZR17 tyres.
  • the Eibach competition springs have lowered the ride hight by so much that crossing even the mildest humps or ridges can lead to the underneath of the front subframe hitting the deck. We may have to source a set of longer (standard ?) springs soon.
  • the gearbox sometimes jumps out of fourth, and is very reluctant to go into reverse gear. It may just require a minor rebuild, but later investigation (in winter 2003) will reveal the extent of the necessary repairs, until which time we can still enjoy driving the car.

    But what about the advantages ....
  • the engine sounds magnificent, and despite having to shift over 1600 kg (closer to 1800 kg with ourselves and luggage), the car has tremendous and smooth acceleration in almost any gear and across the entire rev. range - even from only 1000 rpm (or 30 mph) in fifth gear.
  • despite all this power and weight, the car averaged 30,14 mpg during our 3110 mile holiday - admittedly, much of this was on country lanes at 50 mph, but about 700 miles were covered at 70 mph on the Interstate roads, and there was also a fair amount of heavy traffic stop-start driving in both the centre of New Orleans and Miami - and we did take the car up to over 110 mph on the Florida Turnpike near Miami (luckily the Police car that overtook us as we slowed to 80 mph must have been after someone else!)
  • the power hood is very easy to erect or lower, and seals perfectly - although (as with all convertibles) the road and engine noise is much louder inside when the hood is up.

    For further details of how to import a car from U.S.A. into Germany, or for details of the car itself, please visit our SVT Cobra Mustang page.


    Would we ever consider repeating this experience, and purchase another car in America to import into Germany ?

    DEFINITELY NOT !! Simply because of the total lack of assistance and communication from Pat Hodgkinson at ASI, and the appalling way that Jack Friedman of Double A Auto Transport replied to our concerned e-mails, we would never consider using either of these two shipping agents again, and would strongly recommend that everyone else avoids these companies too. Until someone can convince us that they know of a more reliable shipping agent, we are not prepared to consider going through an ordeal like this again.


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